Page from History: Crooks made to pay Victorian-style

Many of the men arrested for criminal offences were merely teenagers involved in petty crimes from shoplifting to street robberies.

Many of the men arrested for criminal offences were merely teenagers involved in petty crimes from shoplifting to street robberies.

Back then, courts took such deviant behaviour seriously and the punishments ranged from a short spell in an adult jail to years spent at reformatory schools – specifically set up in 1854 for offenders aged 16 and under.

These schools were very tough places, with strict discipline enforced by frequent beatings.

Young people were sent there for longer sentences.

In the worst cases, it was not unheard of for teenagers and pre-teens to be hanged.

West Midlands Police’s Museum’s 6,000-strong collection of lawbreakers, was produced in the 1800s and can be viewed at the building in Sparkhill.

Among the male criminals whose details were retained was Thomas Davitt, aka Thomas Hammat. He was arrested in 1882 for theft.

The 22-year-old was spotted by a plain clothes police officer walking down Dale End in Birmingham city centre.

He’d been following a young boy who was delivering goods on a handcart.

When the boy took a package from the cart to deliver to a nearby shop, he was forced to leave the goods at the shop door as it was closed.

Davitt then walked over to the doorway and stole a bundle of cloth from the abandoned package.

The officer followed Davitt to find out who would receive the stolen goods and within a short time, Davitt sold the cloth to a second-hand shop owner, who promptly took the cloth to a nearby pub and sold it to the landlord, who then sold the bundle of cloth to a tea salesman.

The cloth was recovered and Davitt, who was known to the police, was arrested two days later.

He was sentenced to six months in prison.

Three teenage tearaways, William Devanny, aged 16, John McNamara aged 19 and 17-year-old Frank Osborne were sentenced to three months in prison for stealing. The trio had walked into a shop and nicked 21 tennis balls.

Another group of young men arrested in 1882 were a motley crew of rogues who ended up sharing a page in the crime files.

Their crimes and sentencing showed how a judge’s discretion could vary when it came to punishment. John Deeley, alias Disley or Duley, aged 17, was sent to jail for three months for stealing 40lbs of rags. Next up was 19-year-old Frederick Henry Lewis, who also got three months for stealing a coat from a shop.

Then, 16-year-old James Grindord landed himself in jail for three months for assault.

Joseph Biddle was one of many teens sent to a reform school. The 13-year-old was sent to one of the corrective facillities for 14 days, for stealing a lamp. Finally, 16-year-old John Dainty also spent two weeks inside for stealing a jar from a shop.